The Evolution of the Basketball Shoe

From Chuck Taylors to $15 kicks.

As we settle into the most basketball-crazed weeks of the year, kick back for a sneaker primer from Sean Williams, the host of the Web series From the Feet Up and the Obsessive Sneaker Disorder podcast. In the video above, the footwear buff starts in 1917 with the All Star and vulcanized rubber soles and strides through the ’90s brand wars into today’s era of price extremes, both high and low.

As for the future, all Williams asks for is pedal technology we haven't seen before—more than we get now.